Hotaru no Haka

an ill Setsuko

Grave of the fireflies is based on an autobiography by Akiyuki Nosaka. In the film, it is set during the bombing of Japan during World War II. It centers around Seita, a loving, headstrong Navy soldier's son and his innocent little sister, Setsuko.

Their fatal struggle for survival begins right at the start when both are bombed out of their home and their mother is seriously wounded. They found her wrapped in bandages in a hospital where she died shortly after that.

The children moved to Nishinomiya to stay with their cold, bitter and self-serving aunt. After butting heads with their aunt long enough, the children decided to run away, setting up shelter in an abandoned cave by the lake. Both try by all means to live off of vegetables or whatever food they can afford to trade or steal to no avail.

dying Seita

Seita and Setsuko

This is certainly one of the more serious Studio Ghibli titles as it revolves around the victims of war. It is such an emotional experience that it's difficult, nearly impossible for many to make it through one sitting. Take one pivotal scene, 

*spoiler alert*

the children's aunt is persuading Seita to give up his mother's garments so they can be sold. Setsuko awakens to see her aunt taking the clothes, and starts screaming; she comes completely undone. Seita is struggling to hold her back and he's coming undone. The kicker is that Setsuko does not know yet her mother had died. All the while, Seita's ghost is watching as he silently narrates and he's coming undone because he could not bear to hear his sister's cries.

The first time I watched Fireflies, I was so overcome at one point of the film that I had to turn the film off. It took me a few days to return to it because it was so hard to watch. Even now, years and several viewings later, it is still suffering to watch it in one sitting. Grave of the Fireflies will always remain a deep, touching experience.